Egypt, Turkey and the Libyan Seesaw (AUDIO INTERVIEW)

Libya hand Claudia Gazzini explains some of the ups and downs behind recent developments in the war-wracked North African nation

Lawmakers in deeply divided Libya have turned to “Egyptian armed forces,” calling on them to “intervene to protect the national security of Libya and Egypt if they see an imminent danger to both our countries.” Last month, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi said his country had the right to defend itself against what he called “direct threats” from “terrorist militias and mercenaries” operating in Libya.

Egypt supports the insurgency of Benghazi-based rebel general Khalifa Haftar, whose troops had been encircling parts of the capital Tripoli, the seat of the UN-backed Government of National Accord. But fortunes turned when the GNA received assistance from Ankara, lately a foe of Cairo, and Haftar’s forces are now retreating (read: being chased) eastward – toward Egypt.  

The Media Line spoke with Dr. Claudia Gazzini, a Rome-based consulting analyst on Libya at the International Crisis Group, a conflict resolution and prevention organization, for some perspective.